Spokane, WA - July 7 - August 6

We were in Spokane for a month so lots to see and do!  First stop of interest - Mark found a restaurant, Ripples on the River, and off we went.  The food was delicious with a relaxing view of the Spokane River.

How can you go to Spokane and not see Spokane Falls??  Its not Niagara falls, but it is nice to watch the water rushing down the river.

Every Sunday evening, Arbor Crest Winery has a "concert on the cliff" and wine tasting.  We went out to see Big Mumbo Blues Band.  We got an apple honey walnut crepe and some orzo salad to go with our wine and we sat and enjoyed the evening.

 

We played golf on the Deer Park Golf Course quite a bit.  Its nice having an 18 hole golf course right in your back yard!  On our first Friday we golfed with the RV Park group.  Our partners, Gene and Jo-Ann Newton, used to live at Palm Creek in AZ, but now reside in Mission Royale.  The second Friday we golfed with Linden and Lisa Hammond.  They also used to live at Palm Creek, and now own a home at Robson Ranch in Eloy! 

 

 

 Lisa and Linden gave us two great recommendations.  One was to stop in Greenbluff.  They sent us to High Country Orchard for huckleberry scones.  Then it was on to Eleven Acres to pick raspberries.

 

After that,  it was on to Cherry Hill to pick some Rainier cherries

And, while we're at it, how could we pass up picking pie cherries.

WOW - it was too much fun!  And, here is our total harvest! The beets were so sweet and the fresh tomatoes - yum!  I made a wonderful beet soup (borscht) and a scrumptious cherry pie and I still have enough cherries for another!

 

Right after I mentioned we were off to Spokane, I received an email from our friends Spencer and Christina Rockett.  The Rockett's were in the site next to us in Arizona a few years ago.  They were so gracious to travel from Pullman and met us at Clinkerdagger's on Spokane Falls for a fun lunch.  The falls that you saw in the photo earlier, are right behind me.  Its always fun to catch up with these two wonderful people!!

 

There are so many wonderful golf courses in Spokane and all of them at very reasonable rates.  We played The Creek at Qualchan and while we were playing a strong storm came up.  We were on a hole that was in a valley so we didn't feel the strong gusts, but we did see the trees blown almost horizontally.  When we got to the next hole we saw this tall pine sprawled across the bunker with its roots, still in the fairway turf, pulled out of the ground. 

The storm moved away and we finished all 18 holes!  Here is Mark hitting an amazing shot at the 18th hole.  Its a long way across that natural area ravine - we'd call it a canyon in AZ but this one is much larger than the one at San Miguel.

The first day we arrived I went over to the pool to do a deep water work out and by chance met my neighbor Zena.  We became great friends!   We had a great day at Chewelah Golf Course (highly recommended by AZ friend, Jodie Mitchell) with Zena and her husband Brian.  We played at such a good pace we even got to enjoy a snack bar lunch at the turn.  We celebrated our great day with Margaritas after the round.

Mark and I both celebrated our birthdays while we were in Spokane.  On my birthday, we went to a wonderful restaurant on Priest Lake, Cavanaugh's (the 2nd great recommendation from the Hammonds).  It was even better than they described!  We had a shady table on the upper deck with a great view of the lake.

 

But even better than the view is this array of appetizers: caramelized bacon - (indescribably fabulous), pork and seeds (sesame and wasabi seeds with a horseradish dip)- yummy and a boursin cheese platter (the cheese is wrapped in the pastry) with roasted garlic cloves and caramelized onions, apples, strawberries and toasted French baguettes - absolutely amazing!!

 

Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs.  We also ordered a plate of prime rib sliders au jus.  Imagine this thinly sliced tender prime rib topped with deep fried onion rings - I had to hurry to get this picture of the last one of the three on the platter.

 

But wait, that's not all!  Then we drove out to Sandpoint, Idaho to check out the town and the Idaho Club.  After the ride we were just in time for our dessert cruise of Lake Pond Oreille. 

The views of Lake Pond Oreille were outstanding.

 

There was this very interesting home, err I mean castle, under construction.  There will be two large towers, a great hall and 2 drawbridges all built in authentic Edwardian style.  This summer the two masons building it worked on a 50 foot arched tunnel through the rock to the lake below.  I'd love to see it when it is finished!

 

But the real sighting was of all of the Eagles.  There were a lot a fledglings who are still all brown but the full grown Eagle is always a wondrous sight!  It was a perfect birthday!

 

The next day we played golf at Hangman Valley Golf Course - who knows how they got that name.  Its another beautiful course.  But, it definitely had an interesting practice facility.  Yes, you hit the balls into the water.  They have floating flags to give you an idea of your distance - interesting, but soggy balls never fly as far - that's what Mark told me!

 

One day Mark went golfing and Zena and I went shopping - Nordstrom, Macy's, the Apple Store- what fun.  We stopped for lunch at Sushi Maru.  I had never seen anything like it.  It is a double conveyor belt with every type of sushi and you just pluck what you want off the belt.  The color around the edge of the plate designates its cost.  We had a blast!  We did another shopping day with lunch and one of the stops was at Spokane's Trader Joe's  - I was in heaven.

 

We went to Blanchard, Idaho to play the Stoneridge Golf Course.  They have an RV park on a golf course as well but we like Spokane RV resort better.   This was an interesting tee box - its quite a shot from the island tee box to the green (which is actually to the left of the island).

Believe it or not, this is a miniature golf course on the property.  It is the best looking miniature golf course that I have ever seen!

For Mark's birthday we played in the Scramble for Hospice Tournament at Indian Canyon golf Course.  We were paired with Carlynn from Hospice and Marrissa from The Cancer Center.

It was an expensive 18 holes but it was for a great cause!  They raised a considerable amount of additional funding and really made it fun but adding these "Compassion Cards"  It was $10 per card and you got to use each one of the options on each card.  Needless to say, the cards really helped our team shoot a "rockin" 53!!!  Oh, could I use one of these - it would really help my handicap.

 

This month has literally flown by.  Mark has played golf every single day and sometimes 36 holes!   I have enjoyed a fun aqua fit group in the beautiful pool.  Christie (on the left with the cap) led this group and she is a Palm Creeker!  I hope to see her in the pool in AZ!

  Add in everything else we enjoyed and all of our new friends made for one fabulous month.  I have a feeling we will be back.  Now its on the Oroville, WA for a quick stop before we cross the border to visit our friends, Tom and Gail McEwen in Kelowna, British Columbia.